Friday, May 20, 2016

Wednesday we were thrilled that the whole team from County Saddlery at Blue Hill Farm fitting Missy's new horse Wiley, and several of our students and clients. Gene Freeze, owner of County Saddlery, came with our Pennsylvania rep, Patti Gillen, and her saddle fitting assistant Heather Hunter. It was an educational day having Gene, who is a master saddle fitter, show us the bio-mechanics of saddle fitting on Wylie, Ari, Loki and Rio Rio!

Gene Freeze analyzing the saddle fit on Wylie

Gene's professional life has been dedicated to the art of saddle fitting. He introduced the County Saddle line at the 1978 world championships, and since then his passion has been educating equestrians on the importance of saddle fit and performance.

Sidelines ran a very interesting article recently on Gene's impressive riding background, his resume and his involvement in many aspects of equestrian industry. He has always been very analytical and a huge proponent of studying the bio-mechanics of saddle fit in sport horses and how that effects soundness and performance.“We’ve tried every material in the world, from synthetic to
natural,” said Gene. “Although we could make saddles cheaper and faster
using high-tech materials, we simply can’t get the results we want. We
resisted the trend toward synthetic pre-formed panels, because they
can’t conform to the horse’s back and when you need to, you can’t adjust
them. For that reason, we use laminated beech wood trees and pure wool
flock. Horses’ backs come in many shapes, and they go through changes as
a result of training, food, injury, age, weight gain and loss. Off the
rack and on the back or one size fits all is unrealistic and pads don’t
solve the problems.

"Gene suggests having the fit and flocking checked once or twice a
year by one of County’s experienced representatives or a qualified
saddle fitter. The good news is that, when needed, a relatively
inexpensive adjustment can be made. As for using a tool to open or close
the head (pommel) to make it narrower or wider, County Saddlery doesn’t
follow that practice.

"Saddle design became Gene’s passion. He belongs to the British Society
of Master Saddlers and serves as president and chief instructor for the
Masters Saddlers Association in the U.S. His presentations to
veterinarians and horse owners, scheduled around the world, receive
excellent feedback."

Team County with Missy and Wiley

County has had a long relationship with Blue Hill Farm, originally sponsoring Jessica several decades ago. Jess is so enthralled with her older County Saddle, that she requested Gene just have it re-flocked when he offered to replace the saddle. Their saddles are that good......and they withstand the test of time!

We are so thankful to County for being so hands on in creating the perfect fit for all of our horses. Missy is excited to get her new custom Solution Monoflap. Since this is County's newest product on the market, Gene has taken the time to evaluate several flaps and tree sizes to create just the perfect show jumping and cross country saddle for Missy. We are so grateful for the time and expertise of his entire team at County; Patti Gillen (together with the help of Heather Hunter) has been exceptional in her customer service and responsiveness to all of our needs.

Last weekend was a roller coaster of emotions for the team at BHF. Madeline was competing at Jersey Fresh with Missy at her side, and from a trainer's perspective, Missy could not have been any prouder of Madeline's continual show of class and resilience. Continuing to compete during an extremely sad and stressful weekend was quite an accomplishment in itself, and Madeline impressed us all with her resilience and composure. Madeline and Ari finished the weekend 13th in a very tough 3* division and she was also awarded the 3* YR award.

Madeline exemplifies hardwork, sportsmanship and dedication at all times, both at Blue Hill Farm and at the competitions. We are so proud of her accomplishments!

We stole this quote from her FB page :)

"So excited to have completed our first CCI3* at @jerseyfreshintl! Ari
and I also won the best turned out award for jog outs, and the 3* young
rider award! I wouldn't have been able to do it without the wonderful
support team I have. Thanks to Missy Ransehousen for wonderful coaching,
Laura Backus for flying in to help and be there for me, and for so many
others who either came and helped or cheered me on from afar. I am
truly grateful and lucky to be doing what I love. ‪#‎rideforphillipa‬‪#‎drapertherapies‬‪#‎majykequipe‬‪#‎actistatinequine‬‪#‎glcdirect‬‪#‎mangobaydesign‬""

Rio and I will be showing on Saturday, May 28 at he ESDCTA Dressage Show at the Horse Park of New Jersey, Allentown, NJ. Rio looks great and thanks to Missy's hard work this winter, is going better than ever!

Please come out to watch on Saturday May 28th for our "dress rehearsal" for the Paralympic Selection Trials! I will post my ride times as soon as they become available!

We leave early on Sunday morning, May 29, for the Waterloo Hunt Club in Grass Lake, Michigan where The final selection trial runs from June 2-5th for September's Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro! The team will be named shortly after the competition ends.

Thank you so much for your encouragement and enthusiasm for getting "Rio to Rio"! I look forward to seeing you in New Jersey!